Point of Grace Online Worship - December 7, 2025

Point of Grace Worship 12.7.25 – Advent 2 – “Coming Home for Christmas - No Place Like Home”

Advent – A season of anticipation, preparation, waiting for what is coming – for Who came and is coming back. 
Perhaps in this season like no other our cultural rhythms reveal a deep unmet longing, yearning, hunger, desire … for a better more beautiful, more bright, less dark, more hope-full, peace-full, joy-full, love filled life.  The holidays give us a fleeting taste … a glimpse of life as it should be.

Food and feasting that abundantly satisfy hunger and thirst have always been ways we celebrate, anticipate, create and capture moments of bliss! 

Isaiah 55:1-5
“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.
Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.
Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David.
See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a ruler and commander of the peoples.
Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations you do not know will come running to you,
because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.”

Sounds like Jesus!
John 7:36-39
Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”   By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. 

John 6:27,35
Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 

John 4:13-14
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Isaiah 55:1-2
“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.
Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.

This feast is “free”, already paid for, available to all!
Just bring your “hunger and thirst” to this one table that satisfies! 

“It’s true, isn’t it? You long to be right with God, to be seen, known, and approved by the One who made you. But instead, you reach for second-rate food. You chase the applause of your peers, hoping it will satisfy. You idolize your children, living through their grades and goals, hoping that will make you feel full. You exercise obsessively, spend gratuitously, strive to be the indispensable friend or the perfect spouse all in a desperate effort to feel “right.” In darker moments, you scroll through images you know you shouldn’t. You pop the pill you bought in secret. You labor, you spend on what Isaiah would call “bad bread.” You toil for food that does not satisfy, forgetting that what you truly hunger for you already have, in full, in Christ.”
Pastor Matt Popovits

We yield our bodies to what we eat … we yield our souls to what we consume! 
Choose well the diet for your soul.
The feast that Jesus is and brings is available now – tastes of home that truly satisfy! 
Everlasting promises that fuel our soul!  When it comes to the soul, we eat with our ears and eyes.

Vs.3 
“Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David.”

This feast is too good to keep to ourselves!

Vs. 4-5
“See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a ruler and commander of the peoples.
Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations you do not know will come running to you,
because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.”

Vs.  6-7
Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

Point of Grace Online Worship - November 30, 2025

11.30.25 Far From Home         Advent 2025 

Coming Home for Christmas: Home isn’t just a place; but it is primarily people.

-       This season uncovers our desire for safety, for acceptance, for being known and loved. You don’t get that through gifts or locations. You can only get that from people. 

Isaiah 11:1-10:

    [1] There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,

       and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.

    [2] And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him,

       the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,

       the Spirit of counsel and might,

       the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

    [3] And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.

    He shall not judge by what his eyes see,

       or decide disputes by what his ears hear,

    [4] but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,

       and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;

    and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,

       and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

    [5] Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,

       and faithfulness the belt of his loins.

    [6] The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,

      and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,

    and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;

       and a little child shall lead them.

    [7] The cow and the bear shall graze;

       their young shall lie down together;

       and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

    [8] The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,

        and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den.

    [9] They shall not hurt or destroy

       in all my holy mountain;

    for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD

       as the waters cover the sea.

    [10] In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.

A stump of new life

A new kind of King

A new kind of Kingdom  

A God who leaves Home. 

John 1:1 & 14

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Jesus enters into our exile, so that we might have his home  

Redeeming Hurry

This season, every moment that brings a longing for home. Let it draw you back to him.

Point of Grace Online Worship - November 23, 2025

Point of Grace Worship 11.21.25 “Consecrated Unto Thee” Part 4

Romans 12:1-2 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Consecration – to make “holy”, to “set apart” for God,

God makes us “holy” (set apart for Him) through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Now, we respond to that gracious by “consecrating” ourselves to Him. Consecration is an active response to the gracious action God has taken in saving and redeeming us as His special people. We now freely by faith “offer ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.”

How can we “consecrate” the actual parts of our living?

Praying and Doing

“Pray”

It is so very helpful to regularly bring the different arenas of our lives under the authority, rule and reign of Jesus through prayer – especially those areas where we tend to resist His leadership and those areas where we are vulnerable to the enemies lies and attacks.

“Jesus, All I am and all I have and all there is … Belongs to You”

“Jesus, I give You everyone and everything.”

“Jesus, I now bring the Kingdom reign of God over my life and over all my kingdom and domain especially ……(ie. my body, sexuality, finances, entertainment choices, my time, my words, my relationships ….)

“Jesus, You have my first ‘Yes’…. I declare ‘Yes’ to You first” in each arena of my life …. ……

“Before I go to my culture, my common sense, my upbringing, ‘what seems right in my own eyes’, and my ever ‘demanding to be heard’ anxiety … my first ‘yes’ goes to Jesus. Jesus gets my ‘yes’ first and my first ‘yes’.” And when I fall short… and choose other ‘yeses’ first… and I will … my failure is met with His grace because He said ‘yes” to me first before I could ever say ‘yes’ to him. His ‘yes’ me first sets me free to re-commit myself to saying ‘yes’ to Him always.”

“Do” - How do I “act” in accordance with my consecration prayer?

GUARDING A CONSECRATED LIFE

Romans 1:19-25

19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.  

Isaiah 53:3

He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

HONORING GOD AND GIVING THANKS ARE INSEPARABLE ACTS OF WORSHIP

"That man is truly happy who can say of all his substances, be it little or be it much, 'The Lord gave it to me.'" (Spurgeon)

"Lack of gratitude is the first step to idolatry (Rom 1:21). Thanksgiving is an explicit acknowledgment of creatureliness and dependence, a recognition that everything comes as gift, the verbalization before God of his goodness and generosity." (Fee)

Romans 1:19-25

19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

Luke 17:11-19

11 On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance 13 and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” 14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed.15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16 and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan.17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

GOD WILL ALLOW WHAT THE HEART DESIRES EVEN IF IT IS NOT HIM

THE PRACTICE OF VALUING AND GIVING THANKS IS THE KEY TO SPIRITUAL CLARITY AND GROWTH

Romans 5:8: "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

THE CROSS WASN'T A TRAGEDY; IT WAS A DIVINE STRATEGY

Giving thanks is not just merely with words, but with a life lived in the Spirit responding to this immeasurable gift.

● Giving thanks for The Cross means we are willing to take up our own.

● Giving thanks for the Cross means I long to be reconciled with others because I have been reconciled with God. Who is it in your life that you are holding at a distance? A family member, a colleague, a neighbor? Let your profound gratitude for the Cross move you toward reconciliation, not retreat.

● Give thanks for the Cross means serving where you are not seen, or where you will receive no earthly reward.

Point of Grace Online Worship - November 16, 2025

Point of Grace Worship 11.16.25 “Consecrated Unto Thee” Part 3

Romans 12:1-2 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Consecration – to make “holy”, to “set apart” for God,

God makes us “holy” (set apart for Him) through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. 
Now, we respond to that gracious by “consecrating” ourselves to Him.  Consecration is an active response to the gracious action God has taken in saving and redeeming us as His special people.  We now freely by faith “offer ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.”

How can we “consecrate” the actual parts of our living?

Praying and Doing

“Pray”

It is so very helpful to regularly bring the different arenas of our lives under the authority, rule and reign of Jesus through prayer – especially those areas where we tend to resist His leadership and those areas where we are vulnerable to the enemies lies and attacks.

“Jesus, All I am and all I have and all there is … Belongs to You”

“Jesus, I give You everyone and everything.”

“Jesus, I now bring the Kingdom reign of God over my life and over all my kingdom and domain especially ……(ie. my body, sexuality, finances, entertainment choices, my time, my words, my relationships ….)

“Jesus, You have my first ‘Yes’…. I declare ‘Yes’ to You first” in each arena of my life ….        ……

“Before I go to my culture, my common sense, my upbringing, ‘what seems right in my own eyes’, and my ever ‘demanding to be heard’ anxiety … my first ‘yes’ goes to Jesus. 
Jesus gets my ‘yes’ first and my first ‘yes’.” And when I fall short… and choose other ‘yeses’ first… and I will … my failure is met with His grace because He said ‘yes” to me first before I could ever say ‘yes’ to him.  His ‘yes’ me first sets me free to re-commit myself to saying ‘yes’ to Him always.”

“Do” - How do I “act” in accordance with my consecration prayer?

Why is it so important that our “money and wealth” be consecrated to God through financial giving?

Biblical Giving – Returning to the Lord a sacrificially generous percentage of what He has already given us is an obedient act of consecrated worship of the One who sacrificially gave Himself for us.

Leviticus 27:30-33
30 “‘A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord. 31 Whoever would redeem any of their tithe must add a fifth of the value to it. 32 Every tithe of the herd and flock—every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd’s rod—will be holy to the Lord. 33 No one may pick out the good from the bad or make any substitution.”

Malachi 3:8-11
“In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty.

2 Corinthians 8:1-5 
And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2 In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. 5 And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us.

Jesus, in all areas of my life including my finances.  You have my first, Yes! 
           My first “Yes” in my financial life is a sacrificially generous percentage of what You have graciously given me, returned to You as an offering.  This is my true and proper worship.

Jesus, All I am and all I have and all there is … Belongs to You.

Jesus, You have my first ‘Yes’….  I declare ‘Yes’ to You first …. In every arena of my life…”

Amen 

Point of Grace Online Worship - November 9, 2025

Point of Grace Worship 11.9.25 “Consecrated Unto Thee” Part 2 

Romans 12:1-2 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Consecration – to make “holy”, to “set apart” for God,

God makes us “holy” (set apart for Him) through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. 
Now, we respond to that gracious by “consecrating” ourselves to Him.  Consecration is an active response to the gracious action God has taken in saving and redeeming us back to Him – as His special people.

Living the consecrated life is shaping our lifestyle to conform to the identity God has given us.  
God has set us apart to live a special way.  At PoG we call it, “the meaningful life Christ intends!”

A Foundational Declaration of “Consecrated Unto Thee” Living

“Jesus, All I am and all I have and all there is … Belongs to You”

With that truth comes refreshing Release and needed Realignment!

            Release – “Jesus, I give You everyone and everything.”

            “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” 1Peter 5:7

            Realignment – “Jesus, You have my first ‘Yes’…. I declare ‘Yes’ to You first”

            “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things
             will be given to you as well”. Matthew 6:33

“Before I go to my culture, my common sense, my upbringing, ‘what seems right in my own eyes’,
and my ever ‘demanding to be heard’ anxiety … my first ‘yes’ goes to Jesus. 
Jesus gets my ‘yes’ first and my first ‘yes’.”
And when I fall short… and choose other ‘yeses’ first… and I will … my failure is met with His grace because He said ‘yes” to me first before I could ever say ‘yes’ to him.  His ‘yes’ me first sets me free to say ‘yes’ to Him always.”

1 Chronicles 29: 9-16
9 The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly. 10 David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,  “Praise be to you, Lord, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. 11 Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. 12 Wealth and honor come from you;  you are the ruler of all things.  In your hands are strength and power  to exalt and give strength to all.
13 Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.
14 “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.  16 Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. 

2 Corinthians 8:1-5 
And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2 In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. 5 And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us.

Mark 12:41-44   Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts.  But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.
Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.  They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

Jesus, All I am and all I have and all there is … Belongs to You.
Jesus, I give everyone and everything to You.  (name the things you need to release)
           I give everyone and everything to You, Jesus

Jesus, You have my first ‘Yes’….  I declare ‘Yes’ to You first”

Amen

Point of Grace Online Worship - November 2, 2025

Point of Grace Worship 11.2.25 “Consecrated Unto Thee” Part 1 

Romans 12:1-2 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” 

Consecration – to make “holy”, to “set apart” for God,

God makes us “holy” (set apart for Him) through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. 
Now, we respond to that grace and love by “consecrating” ourselves to Him.  Consecration is an active response to the gracious action God has taken in saving and redeeming us back to Him – as His special people.

Consecrating includes cleansing, sacrifice and (re-)dedication to God and His purposes in the world.

Consecration is so important in a time of compromise.

Theological compromise

John 17:14-19 “13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.”

2 Timothy 4:1-5 “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 

“The vague and tenuous hope that God is too kind to punish the ungodly has become a deadly opiate for the consciences of millions.” A.W. Tozer   

Moral Compromise

Titus 2:11-14 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.  It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

“Three marks of a moral revolution:
What was universally condemned is now celebrated.
What was universally celebrated is now condemned.
Those who refuse to celebrate are condemned.”
Theo Hobson 

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies.

We are consecrated to a Person – In our “being” and in our “living” we are “set apart” for a person.

1 Peter 2 9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

We are consecrated for a Purpose – In our “being” and in our “living” we are “set apart” for His purpose.

1 Peter 2 9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ……. 11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”

“A man by His sin may waste himself, which is to waste that which on earth is most like God.  This is man’s greatest tragedy and God’s heaviest grief.” A. W. Tozer

“You were born in the image of God to be used by God for incredible Kingdom purposes and the greatest tragedy is that you will waste your life on lesser things.  You are the perfect candidate for God to use if you will consecrate yourself to Him” – Jon Tyson

“The world has yet to see what God would do with a man fully consecrated to Him” D.L. Moody

“Other’s may.

You may not!” 

Joshua 3:5
Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” 

Consecrate yourselves!

            Cleansing, Sacrifice, (Re-)Dedication to Jesus and His purposes in the world.

Point of Grace Online Worship - October 26, 2025

Point of Grace Worship 10.26.25  “Experience Jesus. Really.”  Part 4 

The “plea”?

“Keep choosing God.
     Then choose Him again.
     And then again.
     This is your task, your daily calling, (every day for the rest of your life) whatever else you might be up to.  Everything around you is pulling against it like a riptide. 
     I wish One Great Choosing on our part would take are of things for the rest of our lives, but it doesn’t work that way.  We live in story not a painting.  Things are very dynamic, as we saw in Psalm 91; you have to keep choosing and choosing and choosing Jesus above all things.  This is how we love him and take refuge in Him.”
(Experience Jesus. Really. Pg.237) 

Genesis 3:9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

Psalm 91:1-2   Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

Matthew 11:28-30 (MSG)Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Matthew 4:19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 

John 7:37-38 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

John 15:4-5 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.  “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 

Notice with Jesus …. there is “Plea” and “Promise”!

Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 

2 Corinthians 5:21   We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

Hebrews 12:1-3 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Intentional daily rhythms of experiencing Jesus (Word and Prayer) help us “fix our eyes on Him so we run our race well” and help us “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles”.

Resistance from the devil, the world and our sinful nature (self-life) is great! 
They do not want us to “take refuge” in God and find our hope, peace and joy in His Presence.

The Problem is we want two things that are in fundamental conflict.

Hebrews 12:15-17
See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.

Genesis 25:29-34
Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.)
Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.”
“Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?”
But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.
Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left.
So Esau despised his birthright.

Esau chose temporary relief over God and His blessing.

One foot on the dock and the other on the dock is the most dangerous place to be.

“Friends, the only safe place in the cosmos is to be situated deeply in Christ……the practices I have presented in this book are swimming lessons for mystics.  If you do practice them, swimming in the ocean of God will become second nature”
It’s the only safe place in the cosmos.

“So choose God. 
Choose Him again.
And then again.
This is your daily task for the rest of your life”
(Experience Jesus. Really)

Point of Grace Online Worship - October 19, 2025

Point of Grace Worship 10.19.25 JESUS: THE INTEGRATING CENTER OF ALL THINGS 

Welcoming Our Savior into the Broken Places of Our Lives 

THE PROBLEM WE FACE 

John 20:19-20

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 

WHY DOES JESUS WANT TO COME INTO OUR LOCKED ROOMS?  

1 - BECAUSE OF WHO HE IS!  

Colossians 1:15-17

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 

2 Corinthians 4:7

We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ He is a new creation; the old has gone, and the new has come!” 

2 - BECAUSE OF WHY HE CAME!  

Isaiah 61:1-3

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners…to comfort those who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord, for the display of his splendor. 

OUR RESPONSE:

To Invite Him Into the Fragmented Places of Our Heart and Life 

Revelation 3:20

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me. 

John 20:20

And the disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 

John 1:4-5 

In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.